Accrington station is to be given a boost from an accessibility fund, following a design study funded that was funded by Community Rail Lancashire. The Lancashire station is one of many across the UK that will benefit from the Government scheme.
Accrington Station
The improvements will be paid for through the Access for All programme. The timescale for work starting on site is to be confirmed, however, works will include:
+ Excavation of the existing ramp to a suitable depth
+ Clearing of trees and vegetation to the ramp area, as well as any trees impeding upon lighting and security assets
+ Forming of a new pedestrian ramp
+ Installation of new double-height handrails to both sides of the ramp
+ Installation of new concrete edgings
+ A lighting levels survey, including modifications of lighting as required
+ White lining within the car park
Owain Roberts, Stakeholder Manager at Northern, said: “As an industry, we are working hard to modernise the rail network. We are dedicated to making Northern’s stations and services more accessible and this investment will make a huge difference, as another positive step toward a truly integrated transport system that gives people with additional mobility needs the confidence to travel by rail.”
Richard Watts, Chair of Community Rail Lancashire, commented: “Improving accessibility across the local rail network is one of the fundamental objectives of Community Rail Lancashire and the East Lancashire CRP, so we are delighted that the design study initiated by Community Rail Lancashire has resulted in a successful bid by Northern to the Access for All mid-tier fund. This will see works taking place to greatly improve the access ramp to platform 1. The project will be of considerable benefit to mobility-impaired passengers who use the station and we look forward to the successful completion.”
The Department for Transport’s Access for All programme aims to address the issues faced by disabled passengers and passengers with mobility restraints (such as heavy luggage or pushchairs) when using the railway in the UK.